golden hour photography

a golden hour photography shoot at the chickamauga dam. finding the perfect location is so important. my friend sam. for our 3rd project in my college photography class (GATP1370 photography for designers), we were tasked with creating a magazine cover, both designing the page & taking the photos. the landscape there is this industrial slice of heaven. so many interesting structures and lines to pose with.

when is the golden hour, anyway? it’s that few minutes right before sunset…. just after sunrise. the light is golden, warm, glowing. it’s the perfect time to shoot , especially when your subject is sam : )

i was more than thrilled with the outcome. before the 1st culling in lightroom, i had 600 images, shot in raw. sam is so beautiful and expressive… i was so happy with how striking she was juxtaposed against the massive industrial structures like railroad tracks, bridges, and so much electrical power infrastructure shit i dont know the name of!

we waited for a train to arrive, and when it did, the shoot became so much more exciting. we got as close to the train we could get without it blowing us backwards (we were up 50 feet or more from ground level for the pictures with the train in the background). i loved the frightening energy of the whole thing! the model + location + golden hour light made the project a success.

the dam is one of my most sacred spots and it was lovely sharing it with my friend. we explored the area and the sunset just tipped the scales in our direction. the background noise of the dam is unlike anywhere else. overpowering , yet somehow relaxing.

i imagined these on the cover of a sort of edgy magazine, maybe one that included fashion photography, industrial photography, or some sort of combination of the 2. i will post the mag cover later.